The Cure
by borgprincess
Summary: I admit it, this is not the most original of stories, but the interpretation sure is! Based on the Star Trek: TNG episode... Janeway and Chakotay have a series of adventures, not least the providential mind link that forms between them.
1. Chapter 1

She had done the right thing. The only thing she could have done under the circumstances. Since the amalgamation of Tuvok and Neelix due to a unique species of plant and the transporter, the resulting individual had endeared himself to the crew. Tuvix, as he had named himself, had been a superior officer due to Tuvok's knowledge and experience together with Neelix's creative ability. The messhall certainly hadn't suffered, becoming more popular as Neelix's enthusiasm with leola root and spices was tempered by Tuvok's caution, the food created being received with enthusiasm.

At first, Tuvix had been an accident, which would be rectified at first opportunity. But when it seemed unlikely a 'cure' would be found, Tuvix had been integrated into the crew, becoming a fine officer and good friend in his own right.

But a solution had been found. And so the dilemma had been born. "I don't want to die," Tuvix had said devastatingly. He had protested, "I have the right to live!"

At which point had Tuvix become an individual?

Tuvix had made a scene on the bridge as he struggled with the decision he intuitively knew she had made. But then, he had accepted it. And he had made a speech, apologising for the fact that his death would be on the crew's consciences, praising them as good people. He had given them his forgiveness.

The entire bridge crew had lowered their gazes, unable to meet his eyes. All of them, except Janeway. She had made the only choice she could. Tuvix was simply an error to be corrected, wasn't he?

_Or was that the justification a guilty mind comes up with?_

Janeway forced away that thought, lowering her gaze from the stars she'd been studying to the couch, refusing to let the tears fall, refusing to give in to the maelstrom of emotion surrounding her, clenching her fists at the effort. Finally, she gained control of her physical reaction to her thoughts and let out a breath. But she was unable to prevent her mind from returning to the events that had been troubling her…

The Doctor had refused to conduct the procedure, citing his oath not to take life. It was murder, was his unvoiced opinion, and his ethical subroutines would not allow him to go through with it. She had nodded, taken over and injected the isotope that would highlight one of the two's genetic structure and enable her to beam him out of Tuvix, thus leaving two separate life forms again. Janeway had coldly called out her actions as she completed the procedure. Tuvok and Neelix were separated. And Tuvix…was gone.

She tightened her lips, banishing the slight trembling. She had done the right thing! Tuvix had never been anything more than the fusion of Tuvok and Neelix and she had simply reversed the process. Janeway had seen the happiness on Kes' face as the tiny Ocampa launched herself into Neelix's arms. Dear Kes, who had suffered so much, was now untormented and happy again with Neelix. Everything would go back to normal; this unfortunate incident would have no lasting repercussions.

But why did she feel as though she had taken the life of an innocent person? It was absurd, she thought fiercely, she'd never murdered a sentient being and she never would. All she had done was separate Tuvok and Neelix, both of whom were grateful to have their lives back.

But Tuvix…_how do you classify him?_ The niggling voice in her head persisted. The situation with Tuvix had been an impossible one and she'd dealt with it as best she could, she argued.

"I don't want to die!"

Janeway flinched at that memory, then relaxed as it faded, to be replaced of a more pleasant one, a memory of the many conversations she'd shared with Tuvix. He had been such a pleasant person to talk to, thoughtful but humorous…

Her mouth opened in horror as a thought occurred to her. The many conversations she'd shared with _Tuvix_, not Tuvok, not Neelix, but with a person with his own unique personality! True, his personality had contained fused parts of each, but it was distinctive, individual and-

"The whole is never greater than the sum of its parts." She recalled those words with some confusion. Who had said… "I think Tuvix is disproving that," Chakotay smiled.

Ah yes, on the bridge. She remembered that carefree time before the decision. Chakotay had been referring to Tuvix- being _more_ than the two people he had been created from.

"Oh god," she whispered. Her sense of inner turmoil increased as she struggled with the thought that perhaps she acted rashly, without considering all the sides. _Tuvok and Neelix had had people who cared about them individually, in different ways_, she thought desperately, trying to validate her decision. _They couldn't live like that! What about Kes? Or T'Pel? This affected them; they had to be considered. _

She shook her head, not willing to succumb to doubt. A Captain, once having made up her mind, must remain certain of her decision and not give in to personal doubts and worries, which had nothing to do with her professional life and no sway over her command decisions. As Captain, she could not second-guess herself or she would never be able to keep the trust of her crew; they would never believe in, follow her command if she couldn't even make a simple decision and stick to it. Then again, it hadn't been that simple…

"I made the right choice." But she couldn't believe that anymore.

The room filled with the sound of heartbroken weeping.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mark? I'm off early today," Janeway slung her work on the table and went to look for her partner. "Hey, honey!" she greeted him with a smile. When he didn't respond, she moved closer and put a hand on his chest. "Mark, what's wrong?"

"How could you?" he asked her bitterly. "How could you do that and still be happy?"

"You're not making any sense," she told him. There was a sneer on his face.

"Of course not. Because you don't want to admit you were wrong. That Starfleet conditioning prevents you from seeing other sides when it suits you, to make you feel superior and in charge," he spat, an ugly expression twisting his face.

"Calm down," she said to him. "Let's try to talk about this rationally- oh!" he surprised her as he quickly caught hold of the hand that had been on his chest and twisted it.

"How could you kill me?" She gasped. "That's right. I had just as much right to live as you do. More! How could you become such a cruel, unfeeling monster?"

"What are you talking about, Mark?" Janeway said desperately. Then the man hurting her changed…into Tuvix.

"_Now_ do you understand? _Captain_?" Tuvix said with venom.

"I didn't kill you," she found herself whispering. Her mind screamed at her that this could not be real, that it was only a dream, but she could not look away from him, eyes wide in horror.

"That's right, you go on saying that," the man sneered. "But you know, yes, you do, that you _did_ kill me. What would Starfleet think of you? Killing an innocent man whose only crime was existing? Hmm?" She was frozen in place. "Nothing to say?" Tuvix leaned closer.

"Because you know I'm right."

"No…"

"So much for your vaunted principals!"

"I didn't-"

"You did!" his face twisted with fury. "I deserved to live! Why did you do that to me? With your own hands!"

"I didn't kill you! I did the only thing I could!" Janeway said, still whispering, though her voice was starting to spiral up in the hysteria she was struggling to contain futilely. "It was the only decision I could make! _I didn't kill you!_"

"Kathryn!" That voice didn't seem to be coming from Tuvix, but it sounded familiar. "Kathryn! Wake up!"

_Wake up?_ Janeway opened her eyes to find herself in her bedroom, in Chakotay's arms. She clutched at him for support.

"Oh god…" she gasped, breathing hard. It was becoming increasingly difficult to draw oxygen into her lungs. "But I- it was- the only…I couldn't have," her throat seemed to close and she choked. Darkness blurred her vision and she fell still, as Chakotay gently laid her down, calling for an emergency transport.

The first thing Janeway heard was the familiar voice of the Doctor.

"…regaining consciousness any moment now."

_What the hell am I doing in Sickbay? _Janeway weakly opened her eyes to the view of Sickbay's ceiling, from which she was now able to identify her position in Sickbay, due to the number of times over the years she'd been in there. _Third bio-bed from the left…_

"Ah, she's awake now. How do you feel, Captain?" The Doctor asked solicitously, hovering around at the edge of her vision. She grimaced, closing her eyes.

"Fine," she muttered. "What am I doing here?"

"Don't you recall what happened?" he asked. "Starting to hyperventilate, unable to breathe, struggling for air…" the Doctor trailed off at her shudder as the words evoked a rush of memory.

"Thank you, Doctor," she said dryly. "Yes, I recall what happened." Janeway frowned. There had been that nightmare, screaming, terror and- "Chakotay?"

"I'm here," her First Officer moved into range, his handsome face tight with concern and dark eyes filled with worry.

"Oh." What was she supposed to say? "That was you in my quarters?" Perhaps it had been a dream…her line of wishful thinking evaporated at his nod. This was bad; he had witnessed- she couldn't even bear to think about it; inwardly squirming with embarrassment.

Chakotay seemed to notice her dilemma and for a moment, his face darkened before it resumed a pleasant expression. "Well, now you're feeling better, I had better return to the bridge. I'll see you later, Captain."

She forced her face to become blank as well. "Very well, Commander," Janeway said, watching his retreating back with an inward wince at how sterile their interactions had become lately. But there was nothing she could do about that.

"Well, seeing as how I'm not in immediate danger of dying…"

All she could do was continue being the Captain, looking out for her crew as best she could and finding a way home.

_Too bad I have to sacrifice the present for a future that will never happen…_


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, over in the corner of the bridge where a few steps formed a small stairway down to the captain's ready room, the air wavered. No one noticed the small curl of mist that formed, smoky, twisting and elongating, stretching out to brush against the sides. It billowed out, thickening, and when it dispersed, it left a small, unsteady form behind. The figure managed to remain upright for a few seconds, looking around disoriented as it perceived its surroundings.

_It was not as it should be. What had gone wrong?_

Taking a step forward, the form stumbled against the foot of the brief stairway and fell, alerting the bridge officers to the stranger's presence. Janeway was the first to reach the alien's side, tricorder out and scanning. She could not detect anything dangerous that the alien may have been concealing to harm her crew- it wouldn't be the first time an alien race had decided to declare hostilities with the crew of _Voyager_ for no apparent reason- and rocked back on her heels, frowning at the puzzle.

The alien's eyes opened and regarded her with difficulty. Then a filmy layer slid down over the eyes when it twisted, as though in pain. Shivers began to work their way down the alien's body, muscles and limbs twitching. Janeway's reaction was immediate; she ordered an emergency medical transport.

When the Doctor confirmed the transport had been received, she nodded, cut the link and began issuing orders to discover exactly how the alien had appeared on board, where it had come from and to scan the surrounding space for hostile ships. Leaving the situation in her Vulcan Security Chief's capable hands, Janeway hesitated for a moment before calling her First Officer to accompany her to Sickbay. They headed for the turbolift, body language declaring them to be ill at ease with each other, and Tom Paris shook his head after them before returning his attention to his duties. The atmosphere had been thick enough to cut with a knife, that shift.

"Well, Doctor?" Janeway prompted as she entered Sickbay. The hologram shrugged.

"The alien has been stabilized, however, her condition is degenerating. I do not believe that she has long to live, but without more information on her species, I cannot give you a more precise estimate."

Chakotay moved closer to study the alien, apparently unconscious from the effects of sedation. "Have you found anything that would explain her appearance on the bridge? Sensors didn't detect any sort of transporter beam that could have deposited her, yet…"

"Are you suggesting teleportation?" the Doctor suggested acidly. He paused. "Actually, there may some merit to that idea."

"How is this possible?" Janeway asked, eyebrow raised.

The Doctor sniffed. "I merely stated that my offhand comment has merit. I do not have any conclusive evidence, other than what appears to be the telepathic centre of her brain seems overstimulated and producing toxins that are slowly corroding her system," he stared at them significantly. "I do not know much about her species; I have extrapolated from my knowledge of over three thousand life forms, many possessing telepathic abilities. About the only concrete fact I can give you is that this toxin is fatal and I cannot suppress it without risking further damage. It appears to have a narcotic effect on her; she is in no pain at the moment. I doubt she'll wake before she dies."

"Understood," Janeway said wearily. "Investigate further, see if you can dig up any more concrete facts, but don't be too discouraged if you can't. I imagine this will go down as simply another of the mysteries of the Delta Quadrant."

"We should have Tuvok post a security team here," Chakotay said aside to Janeway. "This alien just appears out of nowhere and collapses on the bridge- it seems highly suspicious. Til we know more, we should be cautious."

"Agreed," Janeway said. She looked at the Doctor. "If there's nothing else…"

"Actually, I was wondering about that physical you've rescheduled _yet_ again," the Doctor began, but Janeway cut him off.

"Yes, Doctor, thank you for your concern, I'll have to get back to you later."

"Why?" the hologram asked, affronted. "Now is as good a time as any-"

Just then the floor tilted, causing the three of them to stumble.

"Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay, please report to the bridge immediately," Tuvok's voice came over the comm.

"Red alert. Shields up. Evasive manoeuvres," Janeway was already heading for the door.

"Later, Doctor…"

He sighed.

After impatiently waiting for the turbolift to reach its destination, the command team finally arrived at the bridge.

"Report," Janeway asked, but then a particularly vicious volley knocked her off balance and straight into the rail that divided the command section from the rest of the bridge, hitting her head solidly. Immediately, Chakotay was next to her, helping her stand as she shook off the dizziness. "Report!" she called again.

"Captain, you're bleeding, you should-"

Janeway detached herself from his concerned grasp and said coldly, "Your help was appreciated, Commander, however, I am fine. Sickbay can wait."

His face turned blank at her words, and she momentarily regretted the harshness of her response, however, she could not waste time during an emergency to salve her First Officer's hurt feelings.

"Shields are down thirty four percent," Tuvok stated. "We are under attack by two vessels; configurations unknown. They were undetected by sensors until too late."

"What's with sensors this morning anyway?" Paris muttered, inaudible to Janeway who was only just making her way to her seat.

"There are breaches decks six through to eleven," Harry Kim volunteered.

"Dispatch a team to seal them," Chakotay called over his shoulder as he descended the ramp to his seat. Sparks showered from the console by Kim's, and a plume of smoke followed.

"Ah! Uh- I mean, yes, sir…"

"Hail them," Janeway said.

A brief pause. "No reply." Another round of fire hit Voyager, and the officers rocked at the impact. "Then again…"

"Shields at fifty nine percent."

"Broadcast on all subspace frequencies," Janeway said, tight-lipped with anger. Her voice reflected that anger as she forced out, "This is Captain Janeway of the Federation Starship _Voyager_. We are on a peaceful mission of exploration- damnit!" The other ship had fired again. "All right, Tuvok, fire phasers!"

"Firing…direct hit."

One of the alien vessels shuddered, but the damage was not severe.

"Again. Mr Paris, prepare to go to warp. I hate to run but at least we'll 'live to fight another day'," there was irony in her tone as she paraphrased an Earth proverb.

Tuvok fired again, scoring another direct hit, but the shot in return took, not their weapons, but their warp engines off line. Janeway's nails dug into her skin at this predicament. Diplomatic attempts had failed, phasers would only keep the enemy at bay for so long and now their means of escape had been disabled. This was a bind.

"We've been through worse," Chakotay said so only she could hear. The encouragement was effective, making her lift her chin and sniff disdainfully.

"We haven't come this far to fall under the fire of some neighbourhood bullies," Janeway told him. "Tuvok, keep it up, fire again."

But their return fire wasn't doing as much damage as the alien ships were to _Voyager_. Nevertheless, Janeway kept a cool head despite her broiling anger at the unfairness of the situation.

"Captain," Tuvok said suddenly. "Three more ships approaching."

"Great," Janeway said grimly.

There was nothing more she could do. Janeway leant back in her seat, a rush of air escaping her lips as she struggled to come up with a plan of some sort, failed and tried again. She looked over at Chakotay, and their eyes held in a silent communication of support as they awaited destruction.

"The three new ships are powering weapons," Tuvok stated, but there was a slight confusion audible to Janeway, having been a long-time friend.

"What is it?" she asked, not breaking the eye contact with Chakotay, desperately hoping for something, anything.

"These ships do not have similar configurations as the enemy ships."

That was when the newcomers opened fire- and the ships attacking _Voyager_ broke off their assault to deal with the new threat. The fight did not last long, with _Voyager'_s attackers realizing they were outgunned and escaped while they could.

"Captain, the lead ship is hailing," Kim called.

Now Janeway looked away, at the viewscreen as she answered the hail.

"I'm Captain Kma'Davia Jatelson of the _Krisnolste_."

_A humanoid_, noted Janeway in a quick second of appraisal. The alien captain possessed features very similar to those of humans and, Janeway was briefly delighted to notice, relatively short, much as she. Jatelson's features were very delicate, gently rounded in what would have been youth in humans, but which she was loath to classify in an alien race. She saw with interest that Jatelson also possessed spots reminiscent to those of a Trill's.

"Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship _Voyager_. It's very good to see you," Janeway greeted her. "Thank you very much for your assistance; I'm afraid we were taking quite a beating just then," she said ruefully.

"As you notice, we don't have very friendly neighbours," Jatelson agreed. "However, my people, the Rian'chMuri would be delighted to have you dock at our main space station not many light years from our current position. You could repair the damage caused by the Natamuri there."

"I'd be delighted to accept your offer, but our propulsion systems were knocked offline during the attack," Janeway said.

Jatelson waved a dismissive hand. "Not a problem. We can tractor you there. You can't say no, Captain, it's a matter of pride now," she smiled at Janeway. "We pride ourselves on our hospitality."

"I won't argue with you then," Janeway accepted.

Jatelson nodded and cut the transmission. A blue beam shot out from her ship to _Voyager_.

Janeway bit her lip in thought.

"How fortuitous," she said out loud.

Chakotay chuckled beside her. "A little too fortuitous?" he offered.

"Perhaps," she shrugged. "But it's a little late in the game to become cynical and xenophobic now."

"Don't restrict yourself now," he teased. "As they say, it's never too late."

Responding to the warmth in his tone, the camaraderie that had been absent for a time, and some deeper emotion that she intuited from his tone and body language, her subconscious bade her reply, almost seriously, mostly in humour, "Is that another of your ancient legends, Chakotay?" But then reality kicked in and she paled, her eyes widening as did his at her reference to a time neither of them talked about. Ice set in her eyes as she replied tonelessly, "Yes, Commander, that's what they say indeed…"

A distinct chill set the tone for the rest of the journey to their new friends' space station, with only the bare minimum of dialogue necessary on the bridge being held.


	4. Chapter 4

"Your ship is impressive," Janeway commented as Captain Jatelson led the grand tour around her ship, the _Krisnolste_.

There were parallels between the ship and _Voyager_; a section of personal quarters for the crew, a central mess hall to commingle and eat although due to the size of the ship and the location of different divisions as well as the shift system, there were separate and smaller mess halls assigned to officers of specific division where they could grab a quick break and bite. The plain walls were also familiar to Janeway, the lack of adornment apparently universal and she said so.

"Of course. Why would the government wish to waste resources on such a frivolous activity, when they can be put to better use supplementing the lives of the Legacy members?" Jatelson asked ironically. "The Legacy being the central agency in power in this sector."

"Politicians," Janeway offered in a mock contemptuous tone and they shared a smile. "Just as much a universal constant as lawyers."

Jatelson clutched her heart dramatically. "You have those too?" A burst of laughter at her theatrics. She sobered up as they approached a room at the end of a corridor. "This is my office," she said, waving Janeway in ahead of her.

"My, my," Janeway murmured, taking in the luxurious surroundings. "Seems you've been doing a little supplementing of your own."

"I do my poor best," Jatelson said modestly, pleased at the other woman's reaction at her decorating.

"This is gorgeous. I feel as though I should take notes. My own office is as bare as the ship's corridor compared to this."

"Please, sit."

Janeway sat, murmuring in delight at the comfort of the chair. "This really is a lovely ship, Captain."

"Thank you. By the way, call me ma'Dav, please."

"Then I'm Kathryn."

Jatelson smiled. "Very well, Kathryn. I wanted to speak with you here, alone, about the political situation, so that you may better understand. You see, it is difficult, because officially, there exists an Accord that neither we nor the Natamuri intrude on each other's territory. In reality…"

"It's a totally different story."

"Yes. It's become almost a rite of passage that the young make their way to the border and trespass, simply for the thrill of it all. We do not wish to cause deaths over mere children's antics," Jatelson said. "However, it is complicated as sometimes agents of the other side try to make their way over the Border and we cannot know which is which. One would think the size and capability of a vessel would help determine that, yet sometimes pleasure cruises enter our space for the purpose of encountering us, because the two of our races have not seen each other in years, and if the rumours and myths that abound here are even half as rampant there, they are only curious about us. Then _size_ and _capability_ do nothing for us. Yet sometimes enemy ships are disguised as pleasure ships and then abruptly open fire on our vessels. They do not kill either, but it becomes an issue of pride and honour…" Jatelson sighed.

"'Capture the flag'?" Janeway suggested. At Jatelson's questioning glance, she explained, "A war game, one side infiltrates the other side's territory with a specific agenda to capture an item as a trophy. It's one of our training activities at the Academy. Teaches tactics, quick thinking and it's fun as well…but I imagine when it's in real life, it takes on an embarrassing stake in dealings with each other."

Jatelson nodded. "Kathryn, we don't want to risk starting a war; our two races were once engaged in a very long and brutal one, many years ago, to which a cease-fire was called before my time and yet the repercussions were still felt long into my adult years. Both sides suffered greatly, and it was only for the cultural deprivation, the fact that many children were growing up in constant fear, prepared for entering in battle with the opposite side with no chance to experience a happy childhood, that an end was called, for their sake and the sake of the future of our culture and civilizations. But it is still uneasy between us."

"I can understand," Janeway said, when it was clear that Jatelson was finished. "It is a terribly complex situation, and I'm sure that those aren't the only problems. There'll be people clamouring for war, to ignore your Accord, to hell with honour and standing by your word and ethics. Am I right, ma'Dav?"

She nodded. "Again I must comment on how much in common our races have. Some people have no idea when to practice restraint, no idea of what is at stake."

"I admire the restraint the majority of your people practice," Janeway said, reaching over to pat ma'Dav's hand. "When it comes to war, it takes only one, but it takes two- and a much harder task it is- to make peace."

Jatelson nodded. "I just wanted to explain, in case you wondered why we didn't destroy those ships that attacked you so unjustly. Some people have complex codes of honour, you understand, not that I think you're a particularly bloodthirsty type, of course, Kathryn!"

"No, we prefer not to kill unnecessarily too." A thought of Tuvix- _was he _necessary - surfaced in her subconscious, causing her to draw her brows together for a moment, but then thankfully, it submerged and she focussed on ma'Dav.

"Oh, by the way, our local representatives for the Legacy wants to meet with you," Jatelson said. "You see, some take these confrontations more to heart that we do, who face it all the time. They see it as an affront if the Natamuri score in our sector, where we are meant to be the supreme entities," there was a mocking note on the last words. "You know how it gets, all the power play that then happens. Then diplomatic measures are taken, with the alien vessels attacked, or if it's more serious, in a subspace conference with the diplomats on the opposite side of the Border. And then the side which has captured the flag, as you put it, has an advantage over the other, which neither will openly acknowledge, but…" She rolled her eyes at the posturing that then took place, and Janeway smiled, echoing her sentiments. "Anyhow, the last few confrontations took place were in a totally different point along the Border, and we were led off track by those, not realizing they were intended as diversions from the point they intended to pursue. When we heard your broadcast to the Natamuri ships, we realized our error and hastened here at maximum speed," Jatelson grinned suddenly. "You should have heard the engineers grumbling about their poor babies being put under that much pressure, but I asked, what's the point about boasting about this superior speed they supposedly could produce if they couldn't live up to what they claimed, and they bristled at that. Suddenly, they were clamouring to show exactly what they could do."

Janeway nodded knowingly. "Either appeal to the ego or, depending on circumstances, assault it. Results are the same, but in one scenario they're still happy, in the other, they're royally pissed off. But," she shrugged. "You can't be diplomatic all the time, can you?"

"No," agreed Jatelson. With a quirky smile, she added, "Besides, they need a boot on the ass to remind them who's boss sometimes."

They chuckled.

A week later, restocked, repaired and space worthy, _Voyager_ left for the homeworld of the Rian'chMuri for a diplomatic conference. Janeway wasn't thrilled at the prospect, especially as it would only be her and Chakotay attending, but needs must and she was resolved to slog through it smiling if she ended up with dulled teeth from grinding them together in a pained attempt to keep face. Even less appealing was the revelation that transporters weren't safe to use because of the interference from the atmosphere that technology had failed to correct, and so she would be spending an hour or so in close quarters with Chakotay. She was also determined not to admit the idea affected her, or the reason why.

They were flying over some spectacular scenery as they awaited the escort they'd been told to expect. Apparently these dignitaries really stood on ceremony. Janeway suppressed the longing for _Voyager_ that she always felt when she was off it. On _Voyager_ she had control over everything, she was in command. Once off…she wasn't. It was as simple as that.

"Sensors are picking up two vessels approaching, Captain," Chakotay said.

"Must be the escort," she remarked.

Suddenly they felt the _Marie Curie _shudder, jerking them sharply to one side.

"Then again," Janeway said. "Hail- what the hell?" She tapped a few controls on the panel but the shuttle wasn't obeying her.

An ominous wail sounded from the engines.

"I've lost navigation," she said. "And we've lost communications-"

"We've lost pretty much everything, actually. They must be casting some sort of dampening field," Chakotay reported.

"Great. So we can't contact anyone for help," Janeway rubbed her forehead, dismayed at the sudden emergency that had left them helpless. "I suppose that was part of the idea for the field. Disable our control, our communication-" she cut herself off. That wasn't getting them anywhere. "Can we do anything?"

"They haven't left us so much as an inch to breathe."

Janeway looked at him. "So, the million latinum bar question of the hour is, what do they want?"

"I think we're going to find out. Look."

Janeway saw that they had approached a tiny valley, situated between towering mountains. The fading daylight lent a gloomy air to their surroundings as they were set down. An encampment was visible not far off, though she couldn't make out much of it.

"How do we get into these situations?" she asked wearily.

Loud voices abruptly came to her as their kidnappers approached. Janeway and Chakotay took out their phasers, though that gesture was useless, given the dampening field. They never got the chance to at least put up a fight, as a blinding light whipped through the shuttle, piercing right through them and rendering them unconscious.

The kidnappers entered the shuttlecraft, one barking orders as subordinates were dispatched to convey the two humans to their cell. Janeway and Chakotay were bound and then left in the relative darkness of the room, both still out cold.


	5. Chapter 5

It wasn't a pleasant return to consciousness for Janeway. Her entire body was still shuddering from the pulse that had been sent through it, and rebelled at her attempts to move. Soon she realized that it wasn't entirely due to the pulse but to the fact that she was tied up- to something large and warm that…seemed to be moving…Chakotay!

"Commander?" she forced out, licking her dry lips.

"Here and intact- I think," was the dry reply. "You?"

"Without the Doctor to provide an expert opinion, I'll run with a simple '_I'll live'_."

It seemed that a belt of a kind had been looped around them with a buckle that she couldn't reach with her bound hands. Her feet had been bound too and she felt anger surge in her at the unwarranted treatment. First things first, however.

"Commander? We have to try to stand up."

"That's going to be entertaining- wait, I think someone's coming."

Four people entered the room, all tall, solidly built men. They looked like Rian'chMuri, Janeway noted with surprise.

"We're here to see your representatives for your government," she said. "If there's been some misunderstanding, perhaps we could resolve it without kidnapping?"

One, obviously the leader, stepped forward, studying her for a moment, and she lifted her chin up a notch higher to look him boldly in the face, assessing him as he did her. He lashed out with a foot and connected hard with her ribs. Janeway barely managed to suppress a cry of pain.

"You will not speak unless spoken to," he ordered.

"Does _that_ count as spoken to?"

"Who are you?" he addressed Chakotay.

Janeway pinned him with a steely stare. "If you want answers, you'll speak to me," she said.

"You are his superior?" there was doubt in his voice. "A woman?"

"Save me from chauvinistic xenophobes," Janeway muttered. "Yes, I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship _Voyager_. And you are…?"

"The people you are to meet with are not the true representatives," he said, forgoing the introduction.

_Fine. See if I care about your name._ Janeway's belligerent thoughts were in inverse proportion to her careful, diplomatic reply, "I was under a different impression. They informed us that they were, in fact, the representatives of your people and if they're impostors, I assure you we're not in league with them."

"You picked the wrong side to ally yourselves with," he sneered. "We are the Opposition,"- _oh yes, an original people, by all counts_, she thought wryly- "and we will rise up against these false leaders who claim to look out for our best interests yet allow a great enemy to share our borders without mounting an attack force to deal a pre-emptive strike before they attack us! Instead, they have meetings over subspace channels, to hear the diplomats to speak false words promising _peaceful relations_…" his outraged diatribe halted and his voice acquired a tone of practiced menace that made Janeway yearn to roll her eyes. "You are not welcome here, and you will be held here til we decide what to do with you. Be good and do not attempt to escape. You will not enjoy the repercussions," with that he spat in her general direction, thankfully missing, and left with his entourage, all laughing raucously while she seethed.

When she was sure they had left, she hissed, "We are _so_ getting out of here."

"Ready when you are. But it's going to be difficult with our different sizes," Chakotay warned her, prophetically as it turned out.

The first few times they tried, it was difficult to get up even a few inches; Chakotay's build against Janeway's more delicate frame did not make for easy lift off. Practise made the next attempt more successful, but then the overbalance problem resurfaced and they not only fell down, they fell sideways, Janeway this time unable to suppress a cry of pain at she fell on her injured side.

"Are you all right, Captain?" Chakotay asked, concerned. He wasn't sure how badly she was hurt, and he was sure she wouldn't tell him. As per normal, she replied:

"Fine."

"Let's rest a while," Chakotay said, but she wouldn't hear of it.

"Come on, let's try again. We got even higher that time," Janeway was determined not to let her injury slow their escape down.

He sighed, shaking his head at her stubbornness, but complied. This time they were successful.

"Are your bonds looser?" Janeway asked.

They were, but not enough to get free.

"Maybe we can untie each other's," Chakotay suggested after a frustrating few minutes. They each tried to turn around, but couldn't in the little maneuvring space their bonds allowed them.

"Just hold on," Janeway said. "I'll get around you."

That was again, easier said than done. The belt pulled tightly against her, restricting her air and pressing on her injured ribs. She bit down on her lip and forced herself to continue, finally reaching Chakotay's front and resting against him for a moment, before realizing her position and quickly turning around to face him.

Chakotay had been glad that the Captain had finished wriggling and twisting against him, because his reaction to her wasn't so easily disguised when she was this close to him. Unfortunately, it seemed his relief had been misplaced, because now, even more intimately nestled against him, she stiffened and held herself rigidly, painfully aware of their closeness- this would be killing her more than him, he thought humorously: the impropriety of being plastered against her First Officer.

Janeway lifted her bound hands to begin working on his. Their closeness was starting to affect her, but with iron control, she shoved that inappropriate reaction to the back of her mind, focussing on his bonds to the exclusion of everything else. Finally, his hands were free and he silently began working on hers. After that, he hesitated as they both considered the problem of the belt.

Chakotay thought about it for a moment, then without asking and ignoring the small gasp that escaped Janeway, put his arms around her and felt around for the buckle on the belt, which was low on her waist and perilously close to an area she would not be pleased if he touched. The buckle came undone, and Janeway mimicked his actions to reach the other, with an infinitesimal reluctant pause that only he could have detected, unbuckling the second one and then pulling the belt off to let it fall to the ground.

They hopped and shuffled awkwardly apart, before sitting abruptly on the ground to work on those ties.

That was when they heard the voices approaching their position. Janeway looked at Chakotay, in the split second before the door opened, in panic and then scowled at her reaction, leaning back and scissoring her legs up viciously in the air to catch the first person in hard on the chest, causing them to drop a weapon which she quickly rolled to pick up and shoot him with, not knowing or caring about the setting it was on.

More people poured into the room, all with weapons pointed at her and Chakotay. She was outnumbered. Janeway unenthusiastically set the weapon down, and lifted her hands in surrender. The leader she had identified earlier shoved past the others and stopped in front of her; she struggled up to a sitting position.

"Oh, no, I think I like you in the position of an inferior," he remarked, kicking her to the ground.

Janeway bit the inside of her cheek to keep any signs of pain showing even as it spread through her body at the assault. She heard Chakotay protesting, yelling at him, attempting to divert his attention, but to no avail. Janeway narrowed her eyes and in a flurry of motion, she twisted and lashed out to trip the alien, ignoring her injuries and fixated on getting back at him. He fell heavily, as his men, grins at the beating wiped off their faces, moved out of their relaxed position to aim their weapons at her again. One moved forward, and in an act of overzealousness, hit her over the head with his weapon.

"Now who's 'inferior'?" Janeway mocked the felled man openly, before she was knocked unconscious for the second time that day.

The leader slowly got to his feet, turning burning eyes to the unfortunate subordinate that had dealt the blow. "Now I'll have to wait til she wakes up to avenge myself," he said in a low tone that was nonetheless intimidating. "In the meantime, I'm glad you've volunteered to take her place."

The man attempted in vain to protest the punishment.

"Shut your mouth, unless you want to make things worse for yourself!" the leader roared. Apparently he couldn't take much more of the challenges to his authority, and this unlucky minion would pay for that. "Now, make sure they're bound sufficiently _this_ time, because if they get free again, you'll all suffer his fate!"

The men hurried to do his bidding before exiting, and Chakotay shook his head at the barbarity of it all, before turning a worried look to Janeway. She definitely would not be feeling 'fine' when she regained consciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

"In the future, we avoid all planets where we cannot transport down, understood?" Janeway said grimly, arms around her knees, which were drawn up to support her aching head. _Of all the times to suffer a migraine_, she thought resentfully. _What a day._ "In fact, we don't leave _Voyager_ at all. If they want to meet, they can bloody well come up to us. No more getting involved in petty conflicts. No more getting abducted. No-" she cut herself off and fumed silently.

"Vent all you like, Captain. I'm not going anywhere," Chakotay said dryly.

She ignored him. The pain was increasing, to the stage where mere chitchat wasn't helping to detract her attention from it. They both heard footsteps, and straightened to attention, though aware of their vulnerability, to face the new threat.

This time, there was only the leader, a female Rian'chMur and two guards with him. It was as if to say that he didn't consider his last encounter with Janeway enough to colour her a threat. The thought that perhaps this lack of guards might be because more might signify his fear of the threat she posed to his authority made Janeway grin. She had to think of more ways to undermine his standing.

"Well, well, well," the female surveyed them with interest. "Fascinating specimens, I don't believe I recognize their species."

"Who cares about their species?" the leader said coldly. "They are insignificant."

"As you say," the female bowed slightly, with an amused twist to her mouth. It was plain she had heard the story of Janeway felling him; she looked closely at her. "Such a small woman, too…"

A small snarl escaped the leader. "If they will suit, I have other matters to attend to," he snapped.

The female snapped to business. "Oh, yes, they are definitely perfect."

"Very well. I will leave you to conduct your business," the leader said with a brisk nod before leaving; posture proud, carefully not having once looked at Janeway during the entire proceeding.

"They will do just fine…"

The smile she directed at the two humans made Janeway think, with a sinking heart, that the effect of whatever this woman planned for them would probably be anything _but_ fine for them. The guards roughly dragged Janeway and Chakotay to their feet and then shoved them after the female.

"Now, you see, insignificant or not, I feel that since I'm shortly going to be knowing you very closely, providing the experiment is successful, which I'm sure it will be," Janeway exchanged an disconcerted look with Chakotay at the mention of an experiment, "I may as well explain what's going to happen. Oh, by the way, my name is Prytelle, and your names would be…?" she looked enquiringly at them.

"I'm Captain Janeway, he's Commander Chakotay," Janeway provided shortly. "We're from the Federation Starship _Voyager_."

She noted with curiosity that their surroundings had altered. Their cell had appeared simplistic, indicative of a technologically backward race. However, the corridor they were currently walking down was vaguely reminiscent of one of _Voyager's_ corridors.

"How charming," Prytelle said. "Now, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay, my area of interest is in the brain. Garkon, oh, you know, Captain Janeway, the one you knocked down, nicely done, by the way, I applaud your courage and audacity, is kind enough to provide me with a few every now and again when I need them and it's terribly fascinating and so educational," Janeway thought she detected a shudder from the guard propelling her along after Prytelle. "But now I'm finally making breakthroughs in a method that will be useful to the Opposition," she looked at them triumphantly. "I've devised a- well, I haven't decided what I'm going to call it yet, but it will allow me to examine your brains in a rather different way, allowing me access to your thoughts, your memories, experiences! Think of what this will mean! Now torture, which is a tedious and so unreliable a method of extracting information from captives, is no longer necessary, thanks to my genius."

They entered what appeared to be a lab or a sickbay, both perhaps, and a rather untidy one at that, with equipment everywhere, much of which Janeway could identify. It certainly didn't give off the impression of a primitive race, Janeway noted wryly. Were these contradictions _meant_ to confuse them?

"Oh, pardon the mess," Prytelle said, noting where their attention had been diverted. "I've been so excited I haven't had the chance to clean up. Now, where was I…ah hah!" She flourished a hypospray, containing what was no doubt a sedative.

Janeway racked her brains, but there seemed no way of escaping. There was a hiss as the contents of the hypospray emptied into her, causing her vision to blur as the sedative came into effect. Chakotay, too, was sedated, and the two were placed on bio-beds. Prytelle dismissed the guards brightly, but as they left, the smile instantly vanished and her expression, as she regarded the two unconscious officers, was coldly satisfied. Then even that expression was blanked out as she applied herself to work. There was a complex procedure in front of her, and she couldn't allow stray emotions to distract her…

When Janeway regained consciousness, she didn't immediately spring into action. She took the time to simply breathe, stretch, assess her injuries- extensive but not life threatening, was her diagnosis- and then almost reluctantly open her eyes. For a moment, she thought she had gone blind as her eyes opened wide to see nothing but darkness, panic threatening to destroy the calm state she was in and incapacitate her by way of insanity. Then she began to distinguish shades of darkness and realized there was simply no light.

She frowned as she discerned another person's breathing.

"Chakotay?"

"I'm here," his blessedly familiar voice came out of the darkness.

Janeway looked over in his direction but couldn't see him clearly, or even tell exactly where he was. A hand patted the floor next to her before touching her hand and enveloping it comfortingly. Janeway didn't feel that action particularly appropriate, but was willing to take it in the spirit it was offered, and attribute it to the difficult situation they found themselves together in. However she justified it, she was damn glad Chakotay was with her- wherever that was.

"Any idea where we are?"

"Not where we were before," he offered. "It feels different."

Janeway nodded. The 'cell' they'd been in before had basically been a wooden structure built on soil; no floor. This was clearly a less simplistic structure. With a hunch, she called, "Lights."

Instant illumination highlighted their current prison beyond what their light deprived eyes could stand. "_Dim_ lights."

Janeway looked at Chakotay, able to make out his features now. "I guess we've been upgraded," she said.

"Yeah. Guess so," he agreed. "Look, lack of restraints."

"What do you think that means?"

He shrugged. "We've been getting mixed signals during this whole escapade. Why should anything make sense now?"

Janeway nodded in cynical accord. A door hissing open caught their attention as a single Rian'chMur entered, carrying bowls, which he shoved through the old fashioned bars of their cell. He didn't say a word as he left.

"Friendly sort of fellow," Chakotay noted with irony. He eyed the green froth that looked like stewed leaves blended in a soup of some sort, and half-heartedly muttered, "Looks delicious." He dipped a finger into it. "Creamy," he said, tasting it with a thoughtful air. "Hey, Kathryn. It's not as bad as your cooking, would you believe?"

She looked at him for a second, wondering at his cheery, more informal mood, but decided to play along, saying, "That wouldn't be too hard to accomplish. Is that a recommendation? Because it's not one that gives me a lot of faith in this gunk."

"Come on, you have to eat," he reprimanded her. "Keep up your energy."

"This is going to keep up my energy? Perhaps from the expression on my face you can tell I'm very dubious about that," Janeway said wryly.

Chakotay looked sternly at her. She stared impassively back, then casually dipped a finger in the other bowl to try out the dish. Studying the paste on her finger carefully, Janeway delicately touched it to the tip of her tongue, swallowing cautiously. It was…tasteless. Rather like rice, actually. She shrugged mentally to herself. Tasteless was better than disgusting. She took another swipe at the disreputable contents of the dish, clearing off the thin, frothy film of the soup- images of the frothy layer of a cappuccino filled her wistful mind- and swallowed the bland fare.

Then she noticed the burst of red light emanating from the watery depths of the bowl. A second of sheer disbelief and confusion passed before she reached out and grabbed it, dismissing the twinges and aches that accompanied that sudden maneuver. Chakotay had noticed her preoccupation and watched intently as she fished the device out of the soup.

"What do you think?" she asked him, examining the object.

"Tricorder," he stated, grabbing his bowl and scooping off the frothy top, also removing an object. "And here we have a phaser." He closer to her so they could converse in lower tones. "Judging by the method they were smuggled in, I don't exactly think they were authorized."

She looked over at him. "So maybe someone in here isn't who they seem. What else is new?"

"You think there's an agent of the government in here, maybe?"

"Think of Tuvok in the Maquis," Janeway agreed. "It's inevitable that the government would have had a few agents infiltrate this group." Anger filled her. "If they knew of the situation, they shouldn't have asked us here in the first place."

"Easy, Kathryn. Maybe the situation only became volatile recently, maybe the agent couldn't safely report that the group was gaining more power, perhaps this is an isolated event…" Chakotay said. "Although that begs the question of why they have a spy in here- if that's what it is."

Janeway eyed him sceptically. "You don't think that someone had a change of heart, do you? Decided to help the poor, defenceless prisoners?" She narrowed her eyes. "On the other hand, who says this is to help us?"

"You may be right," Chakotay considered that. "The guard who knocked you out had to take your punishment. Must be some sort of atonement; if their leader was humiliated and needed to avenge his honour, it could be similar the Klingon mentality, but you were out cold because of that guy…then he was responsible for the dishonour," he shook his head. "I don't know, and I can't really say I care, given our current position. I just think we should proceed with caution."

"When am I not the soul of caution?"

Chakotay refrained from answering.

"I wonder if that guard knows about it," Janeway frowned. "If he was in on it, he should have told us a _little_ more."

Janeway went over to the panel attached to the bars she reasoned was a lock of some sort and scanned it. She frowned.

"This is going to take brute force," she muttered, grabbing the phaser from Chakotay and aiming at the lock.

"Kathryn!"

"What?" she said in annoyance. "I'm just going to-"

Chakotay ignored her, brushing her ponytail away from her neck.

"Commander?" she demanded, then froze as he tapped on something that clicked back metallically, a barely inaudible sound but for the fact that it was located right behind her left ear.

Janeway dropped the tricorder, letting it fall heedlessly to the floor in a clatter, and reached up automatically. Disregarding the shock that went through her at the touch of Chakotay's fingers, she felt behind her ear lobe, intent on finding what the hell was attached to her… "Oh, no," she said. "What has she done to us?"

Chakotay shrugged.

"Turn around, Commander," she ordered him, bracing a hand on his shoulder as she tiptoed to check him- and hissed in a breath as she saw what she assumed was a similar device to the one attached to her. Small, almost unnoticeable, a sliver of silver…she wondered how he had noticed it but that was not important. She stared at him, struggling to understand what had happened.

"I don't feel any different," Chakotay said quietly.

"Neither."

"It's like the Borg, only understated, discreet," Janeway said grimly. "I suppose the consequences of removing them heedlessly would be as severe. Not that I'm sure _how_, short of phasering my own ear off."

"What was that the Doctor said, about removing Seven's implants? Synaptic failure, possible permanent brain damage?" Chakotay said softly.

Janeway's lips thinned, and her fists clenched- around the phaser she still held. She felt full of nervous energy, wanting to be out of there, needing to get out. She returned her attention to the control panel and depressed the trigger, fusing the controls together. Spirals of smoke made her cough, but she ignored them and dislocated the wrecked controls with a good kick. Janeway grasped the bars, then tugged to the side with all her might. Chakotay added his strength and the bars slid to the side, with only the barest whisper of noise, leaving them free agents.

"This could be a trap," Chakotay said quietly, after picking up the tricorder she had dropped and handing it to her. She handed him the phaser solemnly and nodded, having already considered that. She stepped out of their cell.

"What alternative do we have?"

They exited the room.


	7. Chapter 7

It was dark, but she didn't feel inclined to call for lights. They contented themselves with touching the wall to make sure they didn't run into anything. The tricorder returned to them from their mysterious benefactor contained a map, though it seemed rather vague and there was some trouble deciphering it. Janeway hoped her interpretation of the instructions matched the intent of the person who had left it for them, since a legend had not been provided.

"We're hot…hot…cold," Janeway murmured. _And what exactly is this symbol supposed to mean?_ she wondered indignantly. _Could mean anything in another culture, danger, don't go there_, _I- oh, damn it all._

The corridor had forked off; the corridor continuing straight ahead, one to the left and one to the right.

"Turn right," she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. "Do you feel like it's getting hotter?" she asked softly, after a few more such twist and turns.

"I think we're going downwards as well."

"Out of the plasma cooker, into the warp core?" she asked lightly.

"Hope not."

Janeway rolled her eyes. "Same. Hey, I can see something…I think it's getting brighter down there."

Their surroundings had again changed, reflecting a more primitive style. Slowly, the man-made structures were non-existent, and it seemed clear that they were walking down a natural tunnel, of a cave, rather than something the Rian'chMuri had built.

"This is really confusing me," Janeway said. "Their headquarters seem to be made of both advanced and primitive structures, not to mention these natural formations. I don't know…"

"Perhaps they built on and continued with pre-existing structures?" Chakotay suggested. "If they were looking for somewhere to hide, then found this place with its own buildings from previous residents, and complete with extensions into caves…what a find for them. If someone were to discover them, they could always dart down into the caves and escape."

"Hopefully not while we're here," Janeway said dryly. "But who knows? This isn't based on any _concrete_ evidence. Although it would go a way to explaining the contradictions I've noticed."

"I wonder who our benefactor is," mused Chakotay. "It just seems odd that they would only give us one of our tricorders and phasers back; they could have been a little more forthcoming."

"Let's just keep our minds on the task at hand, shall we?" Janeway said, in a manner that suggested what she said was more in the line of an order, no matter how she phrased it.

_ Typical. It's always about work, work, work. _

"Well, pardon me, Commander, for wanting to concentrate on our safe return to _Voyager_, rather than indulge in idle speculation," Janeway snapped back.

"Excuse me?" Chakotay said, confused.

"You know-" Janeway glared at him, before restraining herself to, "Never mind."

Chakotay's eyebrows rose. "No, really. What was that all about?"

Janeway looked at him doubtfully. "Just in response to your comment about my always focussing on work."

He stared at her. "I didn't say that."

"Of course you did," Janeway said, becoming exasperated again. "I heard you. You said, _quote_, 'Typical.It's always about work, work, work,' unquote."

"Captain, I thought that, but I am very sure I didn't say it out loud," Chakotay said with a conviction she couldn't fault.

"Well…maybe…" Janeway reached up to tap the tiny device attached to her ear. "On any other occasion, I would have suspected you of simply speaking your thoughts out loud, but what with these…"

"She was only just testing them out," Chakotay followed her train of thought. "There could conceivably be side effects."

"She said she would be able to access our thoughts and memories and experiences, but never said how exactly," Janeway said, thinking it out. "Who knows, maybe the link was supposed to be to her, but it's formed between us, or- this could be an aberration. I don't know," she said in frustration. "I wish-" she looked at him, focussing on this one thought with intensity.

Chakotay understood what she was trying to do, but couldn't pick up an obviously out of place thought, that she might have placed in his mind. "You wish you were back on _Voyager_?" he hazarded a guess.

"That's right. Did you-?"

"No, I just guessed."

Janeway sighed. "I guess we don't really know much about these things. All the more reason to get back to the ship so the Doctor can examine these and determine their effects, and how to get them off!"

"And so he can complain about how much we expect of him and yet never appreciate his work," Chakotay chuckled. "I remember him saying that anywhere else, in the Federation, in the Alpha Quadrant, his cure would have-" he stopped abruptly.

Janeway raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to finish. "Why-" she began, then the answer surfaced in her mind, and she made a sound of disgust. "Not the Temporal Prime Directive again."

"Wait, now _that_ you definitely got from my mind," Chakotay said with certainty.

"Yes. It's an odd feeling," Janeway said. "To me, it was as though…I'm sure you know how it is, when you've been faced with a temporal anomaly, where you change something or influence something in a minor way, then when things go back to normal and you're in your own time, these memories suddenly appear in your mind, either an entirely new set to account for the shift in the timeline, or something that hasn't fit in before and you're only just connecting the dots…"

"Now there's the silver lining in this cloud," Chakotay said. When Janeway looked at him enquiringly, he expanded, "Soon, I might be able to read your mind from end to end, backwards and forwards, and finally find a few answers to some of the things that have been puzzling me."

"Well, that works for me as well," Janeway retorted. "You never did explain that burnt out deflector dish. Temporal Prime Directive, hah! Starfleet never came up with a regulation that dealt with _this_ situation."

Chakotay looked at her amused. "Since when has any situation we've been in been covered by Starfleet regs?"

Janeway indicated wry agreement.

As they continued, the tunnel widened into a cavern- which abruptly cut off to a pool of bubbling magma, or something a close relative of it.

"Wonderful," Chakotay grimaced. "That- blotch that vaguely resembles a map of yours any help?"

"Well, we're supposed to get to the other side, clearly," Janeway said, studying it with a frown. "But it's not telling me _how_ exactly to go about doing that in a _safe_ manner." She stepped over to the ridge and looked over to study the roiling mass. "That does _not_ look harmless."

Chakotay noticed it wasn't a pure pool of the magma, or whatever it was; it appeared to be submerged in the rocky floor, and in some points, that floor was high enough to still exist above the toxic mass. "I suppose we'll just have to pick our way across _very_ carefully-" Something caught his attention mid-sentence, and Janeway looked to see where he was concentrating.

On the far side of the grotto, a natural ledge had formed, a few feet higher than their current position.

"You're not serious," Janeway said flatly.

"I am."

"You're suggesting we trust our weight to something that looks like it'll crumble apart as soon as we step on it?"

Chakotay nodded down to the pool. "We could try to jump down to a safe spot, as I was saying, pick our way through somehow. But I don't fancy our chances avoiding serious burns."

"So, we go back- not an option. We get down there- very dangerous. Or…" Janeway looked at the ledge again with a sinking heart. "We put our faith in that unstable overhang."

"I say we go with option number three," Chakotay said, adding on with a smile, "Hope you're not scared of heights."

Janeway licked her lips nervously. "Number three it is," she conceded reluctantly.

They walked over to the rocky shelf, eyeing it warily as though expecting it to fall apart any moment in front of their very eyes.

"I'll help you up," Chakotay stated.

Janeway thought about refusing, but then saw no need to reject his offer with the probable outcome of overbalancing and landing in the pool; currently high on her list of what _not_ to do- number one, in fact.

So, after carefully tucking the tricorder away, she sought and grabbed onto handholds, carefully pulling herself up. The rocky ledge was not, of course, precisely drawn with straight lines and edges, which made climbing the few metres a little easier. She was dreading the feeling of rock crumbling away beneath her feet, but Chakotay's hands were reassuring tight around her waist. Finally, she was standing on the ledge, instead watching Chakotay's ascent.

"All right, we're up, now all we have to do is get across," he said casually.

She grimaced at that nonchalant, almost blasphemous remark, given their circumstances, but nodded resolutely and began inching her way across. There was quite a way to go, and she was determinedly not looking down as she firmly reminded herself that she was a Starfleet captain, in control, calm and capable, and with an example to set- beside her, accompanied by the ominous sound of rock crumbling and a muted splash as the pieces dropped into the viscous pool, Chakotay slipped.

"Chakotay!" She grabbed at him as he windmilled, teetering on the very edge- "Goddamnit, hold on!" As she said it, she knew it was a stupid thing to say, and Chakotay's thoughts reaffirmed that. "Oh, for crying out loud," Janeway muttered, quickly shuffling along to give Chakotay room and pulled him to her.

No sooner had they moved, the rest of the ledge where he had been standing crumbled fully and collapsed into the molten pool. Janeway froze there, watching the pieces roll down the side of the cavern, each individual stone and rock, falling…falling…

"Kathryn?" Chakotay's voice was low, calm. He acted as he would to a skittish animal. "Come on, Kathryn, calm down. Breathe with me."

Her breathing, which had accelerated so quickly, slowed to its normal pace as she mimicked his breathing. In, out; in, out; in…Her wide eyes closed for a moment as she concentrated on just breathing, refocussing, and then getting on with the job.

_ That's my girl. _

Janeway glanced at him guardedly, wondering if he knew she had heard that. Whether or not that was the case, he kept silent, and Janeway tilted her head decisively, saying, "Well. Now that that's over and done with, time's a-wasting." Ignoring him, she was about to continue when Chakotay touched her shoulder.

"Hey, thanks."

"Sure," Janeway said distantly.

His eyes narrowed as she moved on. _ You _are_ afraid of heights… _

Janeway wondered briefly if the bond was growing or he was becoming more adept at directing thoughts at her. She shrugged, unable to deny his statement, and certain he knew she had heard it.

_ It's- unresolved fear left over from that alien who wanted me in his matrix…I still have nightmares about him and that whole experience sometimes. Among other things, _ She remembered the nightmare about Tuvix, and how good it had felt to have Chakotay hold her, how safe and protected she had felt.

As soon as she thought it, she felt uncomfortable. There was a pause, and she wondered if he had heard.Part of her hoped he had, but she was conflicted by what she had learnt about being captain; that one didn't fraternize with a member of the crew…

_ Everyone has their own personal nightmare, _ Chakotay said. _ Nothing to be ashamed about. I suppose it's an inevitable consequence of life. _

Janeway realized he hadn't heard anything after that, and was strangely disappointed, but quickly moved on from _that_ thought.

_ The crew doesn't expect you to be some sort of all mighty, all-powerful being, _he added._ See what that did for Q! _

Janeway grinned, appreciating the sudden levity and the insult to Q, also feeling and thankful for the comfort emanating from his thoughts, the fact that he hadn't pressured her to talk about the nightmares or that other night. It was curious how quickly she had come to accept the change in the status quo. Before, the idea of him seeing her with such a weakness, let alone admitting it later, would have been unthinkable. And yet here they were, with something much more intimate occurring, all because of this mind link between the two of them.

Janeway was wary of how much she enjoyed the sensation of sharing thoughts with him. It certainly wouldn't do for him to find out something more inappropriate, something much less innocuous than her weaknesses, something that she had trouble accepting within herself.

This situation, such a danger to her emotions, might well be the trigger to release- something she took great pains to never think about, and so this activity of sharing thoughts and feelings, however reluctantly she enjoyed it, was definitely something to restrict.

Janeway withdrew into herself once more.


	8. Chapter 8

They finally were out of the cave system not more than a half hour later. Eyes watering from the bright sunshine, it took the two a few minutes to adjust to their new surroundings. When they could study the environment without tearing up, it was not reassuring. The ground was barren, patches of grass mostly the only flourishing vegetation, apart from scattered trees. There were hills; the land was fairly uneven and steep in places, but they were exposed to any overhead searches.

"Well, we don't have the option of travelling at night," Janeway pointed out, shading her eyes as she looked out again, before consulting the map. "Without a light source of any type, we'd be tripping over every _pebble_ in our path, with our luck. I'm not green enough to believe our captors would let us go on our merry way after investing their new technology in us, but this is dangerous ground to traverse in the dark."

"The fact that we have no food or water to sustain us is reason enough to concentrate on getting to _Voyager_ ASAP," Chakotay said. "But we had better be careful not to wear ourselves out."

"When I get tired, I'll let you know," Janeway said, angling her head in that way that said _fall in line, Mister, or else_, and began walking in the direction indicated on the tricorder with bleak resolve.

"At ease, Captain," Chakotay said amused, following her. "I'm just trying to be a good little First Officer, looking out for your well being and all that."

Janeway looked back at him and softened. _ I know, and I don't mean to ignore your concerns. I'm just trying to justify your position as my First Officer- after all, if Captains were level headed and practical _all_ the time, you'd be out of a job! _

Chakotay was pleased that she was communicating again. They'd kept quiet, both aloud and mentally, as they wound their way out of the caves. This was the first time since that she'd telepathically conversed with him.

_ Now that's one of the things that make you a great Captain; the ability to laugh at yourself. Have I told you recently how well you're doing? _

_ No, not in recent memory, _Janeway replied, amused at his flattery. _ What's this, practical application of the Thirty-third Rule of Acquisition? 'It never hurts to suck up to the boss'? _

_ You've caught me out! You're just too clever for me, my Captain, my liege… _

She rolled her eyes._ Please, _Janeway said wryly._ Don't remind me of 'Captain Proton'. I was too lenient with him; I should've curtailed his holodeck activities for the next _year_. No, even _that_ would have been too good for him. _

_ No, no… _

_ What do you mean, no? _Janeway asked, arching a brow.

Chakotay's eyes twinkled mischievously. _ No, as in, that's not what your thoughts are telling me. Come on, admit it, you actually had fun playing Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People, _ this announcement of her 'title' was tinged with melodrama, and a mockery of the over the top holo character, Chaotica.

_ I suppose there's no fooling you now, huh? Very well, I did have a ball with it._ _Those opportunities _are_ few and far between for the captain, after all. _

_ So, _Chakotay said slyly._ Any chance of you reprising your role as Arachnia in the holodeck, sometime in the future? _

Janeway's response was short, concise and to the point.

_Where did a respectable Starfleet captain learn such language? _Chakotay said, clicking his tongue in mock disapproval. His voice in her mind was hilarious. _ Honestly, young lady, do I have to wash your mouth out with soap and water? I'm disappointed in you; I never thought you'd stoop to such language… _

Janeway laughed and aimed a playful swat at his head, before instructing him, _ Just you keep on marching, Mister! _

Night had fallen, and Janeway and Chakotay had found a strategically secure spot to rest at, one of the odd spots where trees grew relatively thickly, giving them some small measure of cover at least. A shallow cave also provided a small but refreshing pool of water. It was not deep enough to merit the title, as even in the farthest corner they were still exposed to the cool night air, but as it was the best they could find under such circumstances, they could not complain.

Janeway shivered in the chill breeze, and Chakotay mimicked her reaction a second later. He stared at her accusingly.

_ I wasn't cold til you shivered. Keep it to yourself! _

_ Too bad we don't have a fire, _Janeway said unrepentantly.

_ Well… _

She shot a glare at him. _ I'm not letting you anywhere near my hair. Bad enough it happened once, but our circumstances are nowhere near as extreme; so perish the thought, and I mean now! _

Chakotay held up his hands in surrender. _ Hey, I didn't say anything! _He smiled at her smugly.

_ You _thought_ about it. _

_ That would never hold up in a court of law, _ he returned complacently.

Janeway stared at him. _ Who needs a court of law? My word _is_ law here. _

_ Great. I'm stuck with someone suffering from delusions of grandeur. _

_ Four words for you, Chakotay. _

_ Coffee, or I'll shoot? _

_ Close. Thirty-third Rule of Acquisition. Just remember who's in charge, with the power of life and death, and we'll be fine. _

_ Like I said. Delusions of grandeur. _

Janeway looked around for ammo, then lacking a weapon as he still possessed the phaser, settled for twisting his ear with pleasure, which he responded to with a satisfying, _ Ouch_! When she let go, he rubbed his ear and remarked, _ That wasn't very Starfleet of you. _

_ Yeah, well, very little is Starfleet about me these days, _ She hadn't meant to bring it up but it came out anyway._ What Starfleet captain would sacrifice a crewmember whose 'only crime is existing'? _ She repeated the words that Tuvix had uttered bitterly.

_ Be realistic. What Starfleet captain has ever been faced with circumstances such as these? _

_I had a choice. I shouldn't have stranded them here. I could have done it all differently-_

Janeway stopped herself, remembering another time when she had gone over and over that decision, recriminating herself for not acting differently, when she'd isolated herself from the crew at a time they had most needed her to be strong for them. She was not going to indulge in that all over again just to satisfy a perverse urge to torture herself.

She let out a breath and looked over at Chakotay, speaking aloud for the first time in quite a few hours. "It's all right. You don't have to worry that I'll start the self-recriminations again. It was a bad idea the last time; a mistake I'm sure as hell not going to repeat."

"You know," Chakotay said out loud, and seriously. "You don't have to be strong for _me_. You don't have to feel like you have an image to uphold. If you need to talk, my door's always open to you." He stared at her to make sure the message sunk in, before adding humorously, _ Of course, if you want to take me up on my offer now, you'll have to ignore the lack of doors. This isn't a 'there'll always be a door' guarantee, just a 'you can always talk to me' guarantee. _

Janeway closed her eyes before she gave in to the urge to roll them. They were too sore for that. And the inappropriateness of it all was killing her. It was ironic that with all the other time she'd crossed the line- sacrificing Tuvix for Tuvok and Neelix, hunting down Ransom out of a need for revenge, threatening Lessing's life if he didn't co-operate, allying with the Borg and everything else- the issue that troubled her the most now was how close to become to her First Officer. Another issue in itself, seeing as how he had been the Maquis captain she'd been sent to capture…

She was beginning to feel like a lab rat in one of those ancient experiments, hunting for cheese in a maze filled with dead ends. Or on a wheel, running and running but never going anywhere.

A yawn escaped her, along with another shiver. Chakotay would notice, of course, and insist on her moving closer to him.

_ Come on, Kathryn, get over here. _

She told herself it was only out of survival instinct that she did so, not reflecting on the momentary warmth that passed through her at the intimacy. He put an arm around her and she tucked her legs to the side, curling into him. For the moment, she was worn out, she needed rest and damn the consequences if she used her First Officer as a pillow.

Chakotay was not as weary and settled for looking out at the stars that he could make out from his position, thinking with humour of the propensity for being stranded on planets with each other that he and Kathryn had. He chuckled softly, enjoying the weight of her body against him. Although he knew it would only be a brief experience, that once back on Voyager, she would most likely return to strict protocol and regulation, he couldn't help wondering about…

His eyes snapped open again, uncertain of how much time had passed, not even aware that he had been asleep but the darkness outside was testament to that fact. Chakotay rested his head against the wall, wincing a little at the hard surface. He looked down at the woman sleeping next to him, stroking a finger gently down her cheek and froze- literally. Kathryn's skin was like ice! Awake and aware, he could sense her discomfort and the continuous shivering. Chakotay thought about his options and then settled for the practical, though more inflammatory route.

Moving around so that he blocked her from the opening, Chakotay carefully placed his hands around her waist and tugged her forward onto his lap, settling her in what he hoped was a comfortable position, adjusting her legs to the side. He raised an eyebrow as she slipped her arms under his jacket and curled her hands on his chest, instinctively seeking his warmth. He put his own arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head, feeling her warm breath against his skin. He hoped she wouldn't kill him when she woke up in the morning…


	9. Chapter 9

There was a Hirogen lying wounded on the floor next to him, and he bent to check the pulse, ignoring the flare of pain in his leg.

"He's dead," he pronounced bitterly to the other Hirogen at the doorway inwardly frowning as something seemed amiss. "Why?"

"He was not fit to lead our people," the Hunter said with an inscrutable expression on his face. It could have been satisfaction, or self- righteousness, regret, anger… who could tell? "His notions were weak; he would have ended the Hunt, everything our people are."

"So you killed him," Chakotay carefully rose to his feet. "Are you going to kill me now?" he asked. He didn't recall how he got there, and there was something with his voice that; it sounded like Kathryn's, but that was imposs- "I don't understand." Yes, it was her voice. Things made more sense now. This wasn't real.

And as though that were a key he didn't even realize he had been looking for, to a door that he hadn't known existed before, it opened, allowing thoughts and feelings and perceptions to flood into his mind from hers.

The Hunter had moved away to the side, allowing unfettered access to the door.

"You are the prey. I will hunt you," he said matter-of-factly. "Run."

Janeway stared at him, and he knew her confusion, her thoughts in disarray as the Hunter's words seemed to diminish her, lessening who she was and what power she had because in his eyes, he was superior and in control, whereas she were nothing but-

Her eyes hardened, chin coming up and back straightening. No one made her feel inferior to them. She would hold on to dignity, even if it killed her. And, she reflected, in this case it just might. Walking casually, though with a slight limp that she could not prevent as agony radiated from the wound in the leg where she had been shot, she made her way to the door, not even looking at the Hunter as though he were beneath her concern.

Outside, she maintained that composure, taking another step, another, one more…and then she broke into an awkward run, favouring the injured leg as little as physically possible without running the danger of collapsing, because if she succumbed, she would be caught and if she were caught, she would die…

Behind her, she knew the Hunter was pursuing, a silent predator. Gritting her teeth against the agony she could barely stand, Janeway forced herself onwards.

Chakotay shared the rest of the experience with her: running on and on, finding an area where the holoemmitters were malfunctioning, concealing herself in debris and pleading for her life in a suitably pitiable voice that lulled the Hunter into arrogant complacency- and then when he stepped out of range, when the gun disappeared, she struck, turning the tables on him as she became the hunter and killed him.

He knew that this was roughly the time when the tide turned in their resistance against the Hirogen. Although he didn't know exactly what happened to her next, he definitely knew that what he was seeing had not occurred.

A group of Hirogen Hunters approached…with hostages.

Janeway stared in horror at the sight of her senior staff held at phaser point, each exhausted and beaten. She barely heard the taunting words of the Hunters, ordering her to surrender before her friends were killed. As she watched helplessly, Torres attempted to break free and was brutally smashed to the ground, blood pouring from her nose.

"What are you going to do, Captain? Are you going to let them die?"

The Hunter holding Tuvok captive aimed his weapon at the Vulcan and fired. The Security Chief never stood a chance.

"One down."

Kim was next.

"Oh, god, Harry…"

Seven.

Her emotions were in turmoil, her grief and bitter taste of failure uppermost.

"Don't do this!"

Chakotay was invisible at best, a mere ghost in this torturous nightmare with limited influence. In the real world, he was dimly aware of rubbing her back, murmuring comforting nonsense to Kathryn, but he couldn't fully manifest himself in the dream and was unable to wake just yet.

Confusion now ruled Janeway's mind. On the one hand, anguish tore through her as she watched Chakotay being executed, her feet rooted to the ground and preventing her from taking action, futile as it would be. Yet the events now seemed strangely surreal, and the sensation that Chakotay was somehow not lying dead in front of her but elsewhere, _near_ her, offering comfort, encompassed her mind…

Janeway turned and her perception of the world altered drastically. She wasn't in Voyager's corridor anymore. Her bemused senses informed her that she was naked, in bed and with someone else.

"Chakotay?" she said in surprise.

His lips were by her ear, nipping gently.

"What-?" she began but was cut off by a moan as he made his way along the curve of her jaw and then nuzzled her neck. She arched against him, throwing a leg around him and smiled in satisfaction as he was unable to stop a thrust against her. His hand made sweeping explorations of her body and her eyes closed, enjoying the intimacy of the moment…

Janeway started, awaking in unfamiliar surroundings. Where was she? Why wasn't she on-? Then memories surfaced, and she groaned.

"Good morning," came a welcome voice.

"Hi," she mumbled. "I just remembered it wasn't all a nightmare." _Now why_, she mused, _does that strike a chord?_ It would come to her, sooner or later, if it were important. Janeway looked over at her refreshed looking exec and groaned again. "You're glowing, " she noted in disapproval only half feigned. "Why do you look so chipper? Don't you know that's bad form?"

"I'd advise you to go wash your face, drink some water," Chakotay said with overdone sympathy, lapsing into telepathic communication half way, _ it'll make you feel more human. _

_ How do you know? _she retorted similarly. _ Need I remind you that I am beginning my second day of this escapade without so much as a single cup of coffee? _

_ Ah, the root of all evil. _ At her glare, he covered up, _ Coffee deprivation, of course. Why, did you think I meant something else? _

Janeway stood and stretched. _ Don't play the innocent with me, Commander, _she told him._ I know you view it as poison. _

He kept a straight face as he replied deadpan, _ I don't know what you mean. Honestly, Captain, where do you get your information from? _

_ Your mind. The most unimpeachable source there is. _She stalked to the small pool of water, which indeed made her feel a little more civilized. Her hair was another matter, however. Sighing, she pulled it down, releasing it from the pins that held it in a bun. Seeing as how a brush was unavailable, she had to be satisfied with running her fingers through her hair to undo what tangles she could find.

It stirred a hidden recollection of New Earth, of Chakotay reverently gathering the stray strands and grasping the entire mass to collect it on the one side, out of the way when he massaged her shoulders. A frown puckered her brows as she pursued the line of memory, of his hands on her shoulders, on her body- _that had never happened!_ – giving her pleasure –_only in her dreams_- she stopped. Dreams.

With sheer will, she prevented colour from gathering in her cheeks as the details of the dream the night before came to her. _It has no relevance_, Janeway told herself, _put it out of your mind._

The inevitable worry surfaced. Did he know? With this connection between them, had he sensed the direction of her dreams? Janeway turned around to see Chakotay looking away and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. He had been normal that morning. A little too normal, to her way of thinking, like someone who was trying to cover up the fact that he knew something and needed to act that way to prevent her from suspecting.

Oh god.

He knew.

"Chakotay," she said lightly. "I'm going to go for a walk, get a little fresh air. I won't be too far."

He raised his eyebrows and she sense concern. "Want me to come along?"

That was the _last_ thing- "That won't be necessary."

Chakotay nodded. "Getting sick of me now?"

She smiled, trying not to grimace. "Well, I'm definitely starting to weary of having our minds linked this way. I'm trying to avoid thoughts of the headache I'll have after the Doctor has us in his clutches."

"You mentioned once you had a headache for weeks after a mind meld with Tuvok," he remembered.

Janeway shook her head as she headed out. "Watch it, Mister. The whole point of avoiding a subject is not to have it brought up."

"What are you going to do, kill me?" He sensed the tone of her thoughts and gasped in mock hurt. "Kathryn, you _wound_ me."

"Out, out, damned mind," she called back amusedly.

A minute later, Janeway sighed in relief. He didn't know she knew.

"And what exactly do I know?" she asked out loud. Having picked a direction at random, noting the dark clouds that heralded storms in the near future and also keeping in mind the people who had captured her previously, she was mainly keeping to the sparse cover of trees, not venturing too far away from 'camp'. She absently kicked a stone along and followed in its path, deep in thought.

Well, Janeway remembered the nightmare now, with the Hirogen capturing and slaughtering her staff. The strange sensation of Chakotay behind her, or close by, then being in bed with him and-

_That is quite enough_. Janeway shook her hand in disgust with herself and the loss of command over her thoughts. _The day I can't control myself, I-_

Pain ripped through her, so intense she couldn't even articulate it in a scream. She fell to the ground, writhing as it clawed its way through her body, white-hot streaks arching her back almost to breaking point.

She received a flash of Chakotay in a similar state. Janeway fought to suppress the agonizing sensations, detach herself from it and think it through rationally. One fact was that she and Chakotay were both suffering from that condition. Two was that she only knew he shared her predicament because the result of the experiment Prytelle had conducted on them allowed them to share thoughts and perceptions. And three- this had only started after she had separated from Chakotay.

_I can do this_. Bracing herself, she erupted into motion, leaping up and stumbling back towards Chakotay. Sharing her conclusions, she knew Chakotay was making his way to her as well. Still shaking as they approached one another, Janeway allowed herself to rest against his reassuringly solid chest.

_ Let's never ever do that again. _

A weary chuckle from Chakotay._ I'm not exactly queuing up for tickets to a repeat performance either. _

_ Theories? Suggestions? _

_ We can't leave each other for more than a few metres. _

_ Looks like, _ Janeway didn't feel inclined to move at the moment. Flashbacks of that blinding pain were less prone to affect her in his arms. Damn_ but if I'm not going to tear Prytelle apart limb by limb if I ever encounter her again. _

_ I'll join you, _ he seconded her grimly, images of what they would do to the unfortunate Prytelle flashing back and forth.

At last, Janeway let out a breath and broke away. She breathed in deeply and let it out again. "All right. We're in one piece, footloose and fancy-free. I say we get back on the road again." Detaching the tricorder from her side, she set off determinedly, Chakotay at her side.


	10. Chapter 10

The thought of food was prevalent in both their thoughts, although with Janeway, food was the lesser of two priorities.

_ Kathryn, cut it out! I'm getting nauseous from the smell of coffee you're fixating on, _ her exec told her sternly.

She made the mental equivalent of sticking her tongue out at him. Situations such as the one she was currently hip deep in tended to make her revert to childish behaviour at the least opportune of times. Janeway blamed it on having two sisters thrust on her midway through childhood. In order to suitably retaliate in the inevitable battles, more sophisticated strategies had to be relinquished and she had had to regress to juvenile tactics. They couldn't exactly appreciate a witty response, after all.

Anyhow, normally, the crew was a good reason to keep this conditioned response off her face and tone, although that effort often resulted in the conversion into the more mature and socially acceptable expression of exasperation and annoyance. They may not enjoy being dressed down, a few, such as Lanna or Seven, perhaps, would lash back, but openly making a face and blowing a raspberry at someone would definitely get her sent to the Doctor. Unfortunately, Chakotay becoming more and more meshed with her mind, and he was the unfortunate victim of such tendencies.

_ So you admit I'm a victim, and you're in the wrong. _

Janeway began to respond, but abruptly fell silent. _ I'm really tired, you know? Of all this. I just… _

_ Yeah. I know. I want to get back as much as you do. _

She released a sigh that turned into a little chuckle. _ I'm not sure of that. I am in dire need of coffee. _

_ All my diversion attempts for nothing, _ he said lightly. _ That little sidetrack must have been a record, all of- three seconds? _

Shaking her head sorrowfully at the depth of his misapprehension, Janeway said teasingly, only half heartedly defending herself as she knew he had a point, _ I know it may seem otherwise, but I'm not _that_- _

A gasp was wrenched from her throat, as an unseen force held her in place like the hapless victim of a spider's web. Chakotay uttered a curse as she shook at a preternatural speed, body thrashing, head snapping back dangerously. Cautiously, he reached forward for her and received a blow to the face. Determined to get her out of this trap, he reached for her again but then her body was thrown backwards into him, carrying them both back a few metres to hit the ground painfully.

_ I have you, _ he told her, arms instinctively clasped around her. _ It's all right, it's over. _ Mindful of both their aches and pains, Chakotay sat up slowly. _ Kathryn? _ He questioned, alarmed at her silence.

_ I'm here. I'm fine, _ she told him. At his disbelief, she relented and admitted, _ I'm astounded at the headache from that, though. Whatever the hell _that_ was. _

_ Beats the hell out of me, _ Chakotay replied truthfully, rubbing her neck to reduce the pain. _ Spirits, that unnerved me. Seeing you like that- _he released a heavy breath. _ I was helpless to do anything but watch. _

Janeway said nothing but leaned back against him compliantly. Unwinding slowly, the sensation of her heart thudding loudly in her throat gradually eased and she breathed in deeply.

Then alarm struck her. She twisted her head back to look at Chakotay, despite conversing with him rapidly mind-to-mind. She preferred to see the people she talked to.

_ That forcefield is most likely _theirs_, _ she said emphatically. _ It would most likely alert them if it- _caught_ anybody like it did just then. And… _

_ Then they'd be on their way. _ Chakotay's face tensed as realization washed over him chillingly.

_ Shit. _

She wasn't sure which of them expressed that last thought, but it suited their situation perfectly. All the recent events they had been through, actually.

_ We have to get moving. You're all right to go? _

Chakotay's concern for her was obvious. She looked at him steadily and nodded.

_ Let's go. _

They had previously remained undetected, but then after that alarming encounter with the alien forcefield, they began moving at a faster pace, roughly in the direction the tricorder indicated. Neither Janeway nor Chakotay were eager to be recaptured, or to run into that forcefield again, and the tricorder was frequently consulted to ensure no anomalous energy patterns threatened them in their path. Both were agitated, and conversed at a minimum. The essentials had already been considered and dismissed.

Chakotay broke the silence, _ Where do you think we're headed? _

_ I have no idea. I just know it's away from _them_. Or, _she asked ironically,_ is it? We could be in some sort of a test without realizing it, for all we know. _

_ Don't think like that, Kathryn. _

_ Sorry. _She pressed his hand sincerely. _ I just feel like a lab rat. _

The tricorder beeped, startling them. They exchanged apprehensive glances; Janeway had programmed it to alert them to life signs within certain parameters. Checking it, Janeway's tight muscles eased.

Voyager_? _

_ Yes, _she smiled in relief. _ The energy barrier's fluctuating on one of the sides…they must have somehow countered it! A few hundred metres ahead… _

_ Guess that answers what we're headed for, _ Chakotay responded as they spontaneously broke into a run.

They could both see figures moving towards them; Janeway thought she could make out Tuvok. Suddenly, one of the figures went down, and the two of them instinctively sought cover as another group approached, weapons causing grating noises and firing oscillating blue rays of energy.

_ Damnit, we were _so_ close! _ Janeway seethed, frustrated beyond measure.

The enemy group separated, some headed for Janeway and Chakotay's location.

_Think they know we're here? _he asked rhetorically, taking out the phaser. _ Stay here. _

She shot him a wry look. _ I'm not going to run out there unarmed, no matter the effects of coffee deprivation. I _can_ cope, honestly. _

He chuckled, the light comment reassuring him. Some of the _Voyager_ away team were also heading to their side, and more were beaming down. Chakotay fired a shot at one concealed Rian'chMur that he could spot from his position, who was aiming for a crewmember, and distracted him long enough to alert- Ensign Brooks, he believed- to the danger and to incapacitate the alien.

Left behind, Janeway impatiently waited the conclusion of the skirmish. She too noted the reinforcements beaming down- then gasped in dismay as she saw one of the team thrashing in midair much as she had. It looked horrific. She winced as the trapped crewmember was hurled to the ground.

Chakotay picked up on the change._ Great, I suppose they must have compensated for that fluctuation we detected. Timing is perfect, as always. _

_ Watch out, Chakotay! _

At her warning, he ducked, just barely avoiding being taken out.

_ Too close for comfort… _he exhaled sharply. _ Thanks. _

_ Anytime. Now keep your eyes on the enemy, Commander. That's an order. _

_ Yes, ma'am. _

Even without the reinforcements from _Voyager_, their side was winning. Or at least, that was what Janeway believed, from what she could see, both with her sight and Chakotay's. One Rian'chMur fanatic, then another, and more to follow, were stunned and fell to the ground gracelessly.

She edged out of her concealed spot, moving slowly in case there was someone she had missed. Chakotay, she knew, had met up with Tuvok, Ayala and Brooks. They were worriedly discussing the status of the attackers; apparently, almost all except one or two had been accounted for.

_ Captain, did you pick up on that? _

_ Yes, I heard them. _ Janeway looked around uneasily, trying to identify where an attacker could conceal himself, lying in wait for her to-

_ Chakotay! _

His head snapped up at the mental cry. "The Captain's in trouble," he informed the other two tersely. "Follow me."

Tuvok's eyebrow arched and Brooks clearly wanted to question him but the nature of the order did not allow for argument or second-guessing.

_ Kathryn? _ he called sharply. _ What's happening? _

He received blurred images and sensations… of being- _hit from behind, stumbling, hitting her head sharply against a tree, turning, warding off a blow, surprising- him! The one who had knocked her out that time when she had mocked his leader, who had been punished –_

Chakotay groaned. All they needed was for some fanatic to get it into his head to exact revenge.

_-kicking his weapon away…he lunged for her, undeterred, striking her across the face in a gesture of contempt –_

He could hear a struggle ahead, slowed, but the guard was too focussed on the Captain to hear his pursuers as they moved stealthily towards his position. The three split up, taking different sides to try and get to a vantage point where they could disable the alien without hitting the Captain as well.

_ We're here, Kathryn. Just- hold on. _

_ It doesn't sound…any less silly when you say it, _ she managed to say, referring to back in the caves when he had almost fallen into the toxic pools and she had yelled at him to hold on.

_ Oh, God! _An arm wrapped around her neck. _ Whatever- you're going to do…do it now! _

Chakotay looked helplessly for the others, but they were unable to fire a shot.

"Commander Chakotay," Tuvok spoke quietly through their commbadges.

He activated his own. "Yes?"

"I am going to distract him."

"How, exactly?"

"We cannot risk firing at the moment, therefore I will simply confront him."

_Simply confront him?_ Chakotay shrugged. _Why not? _"Chakotay out." He stepped into the Rian'chMur's line of sight. "Hey, you there. Let her go," he casually demanded. "We have you surrounded."

"I don't negotiate with outsiders," the guard scowled.

_ Commander, what the hell are you doing? _Janeway blasted him, even as she began to lose consciousness from oxygen deprivation.

_ Don't worry, Tuvok's got a plan- at least, I'm pretty sure he does. _

_ Ah yes, that devious Vulcan mind… always hatching another brilliant scheme. _

At that point, a large explosion went off somewhere in the distance. The Rian'chMur jerked his head around sharply, distracted. Chakotay was just about to move to take advantage of that moment of distraction when he smiled in unimaginable relief, hearing the familiar hum of the transporter just before the dematerialization took effect, with the guard holding Janeway captive unaware of what was taking place.

When he looked back, sparkles of light winked out as the two in visible sight were transported back to the ship.


	11. Chapter 11

_ I guess Tuvok is very good at hatching, _ Chakotay remarked deadpan.

Relieved at the sudden turn of events after the few tense, ugly moments, and amused at the turn for the beyond weird of their conversation, Janeway let out a low chuckle through her bruised throat. That had the unfortunate effect of attracting attention from the Doctor, who shot the two a reproving glare as he finished his lecture to one of the security guards who had been injured in the phaser shoot out on the planet below. With a haughty sniff, leaving behind a very relieved ensign, he then moving to their side.

"I really don't see what there is to be amused about, Captain," he said in the long-suffering tone he had perfected for just such occasions. "How is it that every single time you or the Commander venture near a shuttle, someone ends up hurt and the shuttle damaged beyond repair?" he waved the tricorder near her as he spoke.

Janeway's instinct was to pull away, prompting another glare.

"Just _trying_ to do my job."

"I feel fine," she insisted, eyeing the hologram with misgivings evident.

Chakotay began in the reprimanding tone an adult uses when confronted with a rebellious child, _ Fine? Yes, _sure_, now, Kathryn, do you know the _meaning_-? _

_ The adrenaline hasn't worn off yet; I'm not accountable for any violent measures I may take, _she warned him. "So don't start with me right now, Chakotay."

"How so?" Tuvok questioned her as he approached the three.

Chakotay smirked as she realized she had been speaking out loud, obviously confusing the hologram and the Vulcan, who still had no idea of the telepathic connection between them. That tiny, insignificant fact had yet to be disclosed.

"Never mind," she said, avoiding the question.

"Now, Captain," the Doctor attempted to steer the conversation back to matters of more immediate concern. "Let's make this-"

"She was being held very tightly around the throat, most likely bruising and definitely tenderness there," Chakotay interrupted, taking pity on the hologram. "She was kicked a few times in the ribs and she twisted her ankle slightly, but it hasn't swollen too badly." He felt the anger emanating from Janeway. "Might want to check that out," he finished blandly.

"Thank you," the Doctor said heartfelt. "At least one of you is being co-operative for a change."

Chakotay raised his eyebrow at the backhanded compliment.

_ Traitor, _ Janeway accused.

_ Just being a fine First Officer. _

She seethed as the Doctor made little clicking disapproving noises, studying the readouts. _ Insufferable, more like it. _

_ You hurt me, you really do. _

_ Think that hurts? Just you wait, First Officer mine, you are going to pay. _

Chakotay, reflecting on that grim tone and thoughtful expression, was only half joking when he asked, "Should I be scared?"

Again, one of the command team was treated to an odd look from the people around them.

"What is their condition?" Tuvok decided to ignore the undercurrents.

As a Vulcan, contrary to beliefs others held, he was nonetheless skilled at subtleties, a very necessary skill, when one considered the matter, in a race that chose to avoid lying, dishonesty not being logical. One had to find distinctions in order to avoid outright untruths, and part of the skill was grounded in a foundation of knowing when to pick one's battles and when to appear oblivious. This was one time to exercise the latter, as he frequently chose to do when it involved superior officers in witty moods.

"Apart from various scrapes and bruises, the Commander is in fine shape," the Doctor pronounced. "With regards to the Captain…I _would_ mention the skipping meals which happens on a regular basis, the overdosing on coffee and the like, if only I had confidence it would not fall on deaf ears," he looked significantly at the Captain.

"Thank you, Doctor, a pleasure as always."

"Delightful," he agreed, voice dry. "We just don't see enough of each other."

"Conflicting schedules," Janeway noted mildly. "Any words of advice to sustain me til the next ordeal- oh, I do apologise…I meant to say check-up, of course."

"Of course," the Doctor said without conviction. "At any rate, keep off your feet for the rest of the day, if that isn't too tall an order. Sleep. Eat. Check in if you experience any side effects-"

"Actually, we meant to talk to you about that…" Chakotay broke in, sharing a thought with Janeway that it was probably about time. With a look of exaggerated reluctance, she nodded.

"Doctor," Janeway looked over at the comatose alien who had yet to be identified in one of the bio-beds, considered the otherwise empty room and then back at Tuvok and the Doctor. "When we were held hostage, one of them conducted an experiment on us," she pulled back her hair and turned to expose the small implant on her ear.

"And you didn't feel the need to inform me before now?" the Doctor exclaimed.

Tuvok remained silent, but she could feel the disapproval emanating from his stern demeanour.

"This seemed the most opportune moment," Chakotay interjected.

"Well? How are you feeling? Have you experienced any side effects? Are you ill?"

"Doctor, brace yourself. Commander Chakotay and I are- somehow telepathically linked," Janeway said candidly.

The hologram nodded. "Of course. Anywhere else, this would be odd, but as the CMO on the Federation Starship _Voyager_, this simply joins the list of perfectly ordinary everyday occurrences I have stored in my data banks."

"And while you consider the data from those 'perfectly ordinary everyday occurrences', Doctor, Chakotay and I really have more important things to do," Janeway said with determination. "I haven't had a coffee in days and I think I'm due a little relaxation. Commander?" she threw him a sideways glance and a suggestive thought. "Perhaps you could lend me some assistance in the latter department?"

"It is always my pleasure to be of help," he murmured under the hologram's ineffectual chastisement, following his Captain out of Sickbay. _Whenever you need me_…_whatever you need _of_ me_. 

This statement was in the nature of a promise, and taken aback by his emphatic vow, Janeway paused for a moment to gaze at her First Officer. He looked back steadily, his heart in his eyes, plain enough to see. And as for his thoughts…he held nothing back, determined to reveal the true nature of his feelings, not hide behind an ancient legend as the context for more acceptable terms of expression. This time he would make it clear exactly what sort of relationship he was offering, and it wasn't merely the support of the executive officer or the affection of a friend. More than that…

She held his gaze for an age, examining, questioning- and abruptly, she thrust that part of her nature away. This detached consideration, cold scientific quantification was exactly what had led her astray previously. Finally, it was time to blaze new ground, explore a different pattern and expand from what she had known from before to something that was mysterious, tantalizing…amazingly enough, still hers for the taking. Despite her faults, despite her flaws and imperfections, the man before her had remained at her side, exactly as he had vowed so long ago, through all the tension and conflict that had since cropped in their relationship. And now he opened himself up to her, taking the first step once more, leaving himself vulnerable and unprotected to give them another chance. It was her turn to prove herself.

Janeway closed the last of the distance between them, emotionally and physically, intertwining their hands and minds as she made her own heartfelt vows. This was their time now.


End file.
